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Is Burlington, Vt. protest 'buffer zone' unconstitutional?

By Associated Press

Published On: Jan 23 2013 09:20:54 AM EST

BURLINGTON, Vt. -

Agnes Clift and her fellow plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit came to the U.S. District Court building in Burlington, Vt. Tuesday to ask a judge to find the city of Burlington in violation of the U.S. Constitution. "We're hoping that the buffer zone will be removed," Clift told New England Cable News. "We would like to be able to touch women, in a very kind and gentle way."

The "buffer zone" Clift referred to took effect in August 2012. The Burlington City Council okayed the measure that keeps demonstrators 35 feet from entrances and parking lots of reproductive health clinics in the city. Clift is one of several pro-life women who have for years stood outside the Planned Parenthood offices in Burlington praying and telling patients there is an alternative to abortions, often holding signs and attempting to distribute anti-abortion leaflets.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England was glad for the buffer zone, after having complained that protestors were intimidating women who wanted access to care. Spokeswoman Jill Krowinski told NECN last summer that she worried the protestors' presence near the entrance would prevent patients from entering the facility, even though only a small sliver of the appointments there are for abortions. "If a patient was coming in to get an HIV test and they started to walk up the street and saw the protestors there, our fear is they would stop dead in their tracks and decide to turn around," Krowinski said on July 18, 2012.

Clift and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim the buffer zone violates their constitutional right to free speech. Two plaintiffs, Molly Jesse and Bridget Mount, testified before U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions that they can't effectively hand out leaflets or talk to women from across the street, which places traffic and parked cars between them and the women they hope to reach with their messages. The women testified they are often forced to yell in order to be heard. "We want to stand in the grass and offer hope to these women, and we can't do that with the buffer zone there," Clift told NECN after Tuesday's hearing.

Burlington's city attorney, Eileen Blackwood, stands by the buffer zone. She said it does not infringe on First Amendment rights, because free speech is still allowed under the buffer zone, from a respectful distance. Attorneys pointed out in court Tuesday that the city of Burlington even reserves an open parking space across St. Paul Street from Planned Parenthood for the protestors to use, if they choose.

In a motion to dismiss, attorneys for the city of Burlington asked Judge Session to dismiss the suit. "We believe it is constitutional," Blackwood said of the buffer zone. "Part of the city's obligation is to ensure that we balance the constitutional rights of citizens. There are folks who both have a constitutional right to access their health care and we also want to make sure we are encouraging free speech."

By all accounts, it's merely coincidence that the hearing took place 40 years to the date after the January 22, 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Roe v. Wade. That decision granted women legal access to abortions. The city called defending itself against the lawsuit one way to ensure that the protections under Roe v. Wade continue. "I think it's in the best interest of both the city and of women," Blackwood said of the buffer zone.

On the Roe v. Wade anniversary, abortion opponents including Agnes Clift pledged to carry on. "Forty years is very significant," Clift said. "And maybe it will be the tipping year where the tide will change and people will start to recognize the harm that abortion causes."

Next week, Judge Sessions plans to hear more testimony in the case. He referred to the subject matter of the lawsuit as "a major issue" Tuesday, and noted that he expects this will be a "very weighty hearing." Sometime after at least two scheduled days of testimony next week, Sessions is expected to issue a written ruling.

As the case continues, Burlington's 35-foot anti-protest buffer zone will stay in effect.

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